Table on general history of the new states of Europe. The creation of new states in Europe after the First World War. Method of establishing power

Here is a map of countries in Russian and a table with sovereign states, as well as dependent territories. They include completely independent states and territories dependent on various European countries. In total, in the European part of the world there are 50 sovereign states and 9 dependent territories.

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According to the generally accepted geographical definition, the border between and Europe runs along the Ural Mountains, the Ural River and the Caspian Sea in the east, the Greater Caucasus mountain system and the Black Sea with its outlets, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles in the south. Based on this division, the transcontinental states of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkey have territories in both Europe and Asia.

The island of Cyprus in Western Asia is close to Anatolia (or Asia Minor) and lies on the Anatolian Plate, but is often considered part of Europe and is a current member of the European Union (EU). Armenia is also entirely in Western Asia, but is a member of some European organizations.

Although providing a clearer separation between and Europe, some traditionally European islands, such as Malta, Sicily, Pantelleria and the Pelagian Islands, are located on the African Continental Plate. The island of Iceland is part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which crosses the Eurasian and North American plates.

Greenland has socio-political ties to Europe and is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but is geographically closer to. Sometimes Israel is also seen as part of the geopolitical processes of Europe.

Other territories are part of European countries but are geographically located on other continents, such as the French overseas departments, the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla on the African coast, and the Dutch Caribbean territories of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius.

There are 50 internationally recognized sovereign states with territory located within the general definition of Europe and/or members in international European organizations, of which 44 have their capitals within Europe. All but the Vatican are members of the United Nations (UN), and all but Belarus, Kazakhstan and the Vatican are members of the Council of Europe. 28 of these countries have been members of the EU since 2013, meaning they are highly integrated with each other and partially share their sovereignty with EU institutions.

Political map of Europe with country names in Russian

To enlarge the map, click on it.

Political map of Europe with names of states/Wikipedia

Table of European countries with capitals

Eastern European states
№	Titles	Capital Cities
1	Belarus	Minsk
2	Bulgaria	Sofia
3	Hungary	Budapest
4	Moldova	Kishinev
5	Poland	Warsaw
6	Russia	Moscow
7	Romania	Bucharest
8	Slovakia	Bratislava
9	Ukraine	Kyiv
10	Czech	Prague
Western European countries
№	Titles	Capital Cities
1	Austria	Vein
2	Belgium	Brussels
3	Great Britain	London
4	Germany	Berlin
5	Ireland	Dublin
6	Liechtenstein	Vaduz
7	Luxembourg	Luxembourg
8	Monaco	Monaco
9	Netherlands	Amsterdam
10	France	Paris
11	Switzerland	Berne
Nordic states
№	Titles	Capital Cities
1	Denmark	Copenhagen
2	Iceland	Reykjavik
3	Norway	Oslo
4	Latvia	Riga
5	Lithuania	Vilnius
6	Finland	Helsinki
7	Sweden	Stockholm
8	Estonia	Tallinn
Southern European states
№	Titles	Capital Cities
1	Albania	Tirana
2	Andorra	Andorra la Vella
3	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Sarajevo
4	Vatican	Vatican
5	Greece	Athens
6	Spain	Madrid
7	Italy	Rome
8	Macedonia	Skopje
9	Malta	Valletta
10	Portugal	Lisbon
11	San Marino	San Marino
12	Serbia	Belgrade
13	Slovenia	Ljubljana
14	Croatia	Zagreb
15	Montenegro	Podgorica
Asian states that are partly located in Europe
№	Titles	Capital Cities
1	Kazakhstan	Astana
2	Türkiye	Ankara
States that, taking into account the border between Europe and Asia along the Caucasus, are partly located in Europe
№	Titles	Capital Cities
1	Azerbaijan	Baku
2	Georgia	Tbilisi
States that are located in Asia, although from a geopolitical point of view they are closer to Europe
№	Titles	Capital Cities
1	Armenia	Yerevan
2	Republic of Cyprus	Nicosia
Dependent territories
№	Titles	Capital Cities
1	Åland (autonomy within Finland)	Mariehamn
2	Guernsey (a British Crown Dependency that is not part of Great Britain)	St Peter Port
3	Gibraltar (British overseas possessions disputed by Spain)	Gibraltar
4	Jersey (a British Crown Dependency that is not part of Great Britain)	St Helier
5	Isle of Man (British Crown Dependency)	Douglas
6	Faroe Islands (autonomous island region, part of Denmark)	Tórshavn
7	Svalbard (an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean that is part of Norway)	Longyearbyen

State final certification in grades XI in history is carried out orally on tickets. Each of the 25 tickets consists of 3 questions.

The first question to test your knowledge of the course “Modern history 1900 - 1939.” (X class). The second question to test the knowledge of the course “Recent and Contemporary History (1939 - the beginning of the 21st century)”, studied in the 11th grade. The third question to test the knowledge of the course “History of the Fatherland in the 20th - early 21st centuries (1939 - the beginning XXI century)", studied in the 11th grade.

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“The collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the formation of new states in Europe”

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8.1. The collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the formation of new states in Europe

As a result of the First World War, four empires collapsed: Russian, Ottoman, German and Austro-Hungarian. After the war, problems of state sovereignty came to the fore. The emergence of new nation states was inevitable.

Events that influenced the formation of new states:

First World War 1914-1918

Revolution in Russia in 1917

Revolution in Germany in 1918

Revolution in Hungary in 1919

New states

Name	Proclamation time	Form of government	Political leaders	Development prospects
Czechoslovakia		Parliamentary-presidential republic	Tomas Masaryk	Democratic reforms, agrarian reform
Kingdom CXC		Monarchy	Prince Alexander Karadjordjevich	Social, economic problems, interethnic contradictions
		Republic	Jozef Piłsudski	Political contradictions within the country
		Republic		Democratic reforms
		Republic (later monarchy)	M. Karolyi, B. Kuhn, M. Horthy	Democratic and economic reforms are suspended

The boundaries of the new republic were determined at the Paris Peace Conference. France, which sought to create several large states around Germany, supported the inclusion in the new state of territories inhabited not only by Czechs and Slovaks, but also by Germans in the Sudetenland, Hungarians and Ukrainians in Transcarpathia. As a result, about a third of the country's population were Germans, Hungarians and Ukrainians.

Major reforms were carried out in Czechoslovakia. The nobility lost all privileges. An 8-hour working day was established and social insurance was introduced. Land reform eliminated German and Hungarian large land ownership. The Constitution of 1920 consolidated the democratic system that had developed in Czechoslovakia. Being one of the most industrialized countries in Europe, Czechoslovakia was distinguished by a relatively high standard of living and political stability.

Hungary

On October 31, 1918, the Emperor of Austria-Hungary and at the same time the King of Hungary, Charles IV, instructed the Hungarian Count M. Károlyi to form a government of democratic parties. This government was guided by the Entente and tried to keep Hungary within its pre-war borders. On November 16, 1918, Hungary was declared a republic. But democracy failed to strengthen in Hungary. The Hungarian communists (and these were mostly prisoners of war who took part in the revolution in Russia, joined the RCP (b) there and returned home after the Brest-Litovsk Treaty) called for a revolution and began to create Soviets throughout the country on the Russian model.

The Entente “helped” them come to power. In the form of an ultimatum, its representative demanded the release of territories that were to be transferred to Hungary's neighbors. It was about Slovakia, Croatia, which became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, as well as Transylvania, which was transferred to Romania. The ultimatum was perceived in the country as a national catastrophe. The Entente turned Hungary into a small landlocked state. The government and Karolyi himself resigned. It seemed that there was only one way out of this crisis - to try to rely on the help of Soviet Russia in an attempt to defend the territorial integrity of the country. This step could not be carried out without the communists.

On March 21, 1919, they and the Social Democrats united and bloodlessly proclaimed the Hungarian Soviet Republic. Banks, industry, transport, and large land holdings were nationalized. Communist leader Bela Kun became People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs and proposed an "armed alliance" with Russia. This call was supported in Moscow. The two Red Armies tried to break through to each other, while the Hungarian one pushed back the Czechoslovak troops and entered Transcarpathian Ukraine. But the connection never happened. On July 24, the offensive of the Czechoslovak and Romanian armies began. On August 1, the Soviet government in Hungary resigned. Soon Romanian troops entered Budapest. Power in Hungary passed to anti-communist groups that advocated the restoration of the monarchy. Under these conditions, parliamentary elections were held in 1920.

Before the question of the monarchy was finally resolved, former Vice Admiral Miklós Horthy was elected regent of Hungary. Having become regent, Horthy concentrated significant power in his hands, but the parliament and multi-party system were preserved in the country. Only the activities of communists were banned; leading figures of the Soviet Republic were brought to trial.

In the summer of 1920, the new government signed a peace treaty. According to it, Hungary lost 2/3 of its territory, 1/3 of its population and access to the sea. 3 million Hungarians ended up in neighboring states, and Hungary itself accepted 400 thousand refugees.

Austria

After Austria-Hungary signed an armistice, this state collapsed, all non-German regions of the country separated. In Austria itself, on October 30, 1918, power was assumed by the Provisional National Assembly and the State Council, a coalition government led by Social Democrat Karl Renner. The Provisional National Assembly abolished the monarchy. Most politicians believed that little Austria could not survive. It was decided to seek the entry of Austria into Germany. But the great powers in Paris forbade this, not wanting to strengthen Germany. The will of the Austrians was ignored. The terms of the peace treaty that Austria was forced to sign were unusually difficult for it. It has turned into a “stump” state. The economic ties between Austria and Hungary and the Slavic lands that had been developing for centuries were artificially severed, and the country lost access to the sea. Vienna, which was the center of a huge empire and rivaled London, Paris and St. Petersburg in grandeur and splendor, became the capital of a small state. Austria was prohibited from unification (Anschluss) with Germany.

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes

The Yugoslav peoples of Austria-Hungary united around Serbia and created the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes on December 4, 1918. However, the Serbs sought to take a leading position in this state. At the same time, they did not want to take into account the interests of other peoples, very different from each other, despite their common origin (Croats and Slovenes are Catholics, Macedonians, Montenegrins and the Serbs themselves are Orthodox, some of the Slavs converted to Islam, Albanians are non-Slavs, professing the majority Islam). This almost immediately made the national question the main source of instability in the new state. At the same time, the main contradiction turned out to be between the Serbs and Croats - the two largest peoples in the country. The authorities tried to suppress any discontent. King Alexander in January 1929 dissolved parliament and banned political parties. The country began to be called the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which was supposed to symbolize the “national unity” of the population. In response, Croatian nationalists, the Ustasha, killed the king in 1934. Only in 1939 the ruling regime decided to make concessions on the national issue: the creation of an autonomous Croatian region was announced.

Poland

Poland, which lost its independence and was divided in the 18th century, fought for more than a century to restore its statehood. During the First World War, the Entente countries supported the demands of the Poles. In 1918 Poland gained independence. It was headed by Józef Piłsudski.

One of the most pressing problems of the new Poland was its borders. Poland's western borders were determined at the Paris Peace Conference. Pilsudski tried to recreate the eastern ones in the form in which they were in 1772, when the state, in addition to the Polish lands themselves, included all of Belarus, Lithuania, part of Latvia and Right Bank Ukraine. Such plans could not but meet with opposition from the peoples inhabiting these territories. They also contradicted the principle of self-determination of peoples, which formed the basis of the post-war reconstruction.

In December 1919, the Supreme Council of the Entente established the “Curzon Line”, named after the British Foreign Secretary, as the temporary border of Poland in the east. This line ran along the approximate border of residence of Poles, on the one hand, and Ukrainians, Belarusians and Lithuanians, on the other. However, relying on the support of France, which saw in strong Poland a reliable counterbalance to Germany in the east, Pilsudski could ignore this decision. This was also facilitated by the weakness of the states that had just declared their independence (Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus) after the collapse of the Russian Empire.

Polish troops successively established control over Galicia (this part of Ukraine was part of Austria-Hungary before the First World War), the Vilna region of Lithuania, and in May 1920 they occupied Kyiv. Here the Polish army entered into hostilities with the Red Army. She launched a counter-offensive, pushed back the Poles and at the end of July 1920 approached the “Curzon Line”. The Bolsheviks considered it possible to continue the offensive in order to spur revolution in Poland and the rest of Europe. The Red Army crossed the Curzon Line, and a revolutionary government was created on Polish territory. For the Poles, this meant that Poland could lose its newly gained independence. The new national upsurge and emergency French military assistance allowed Pilsudski to prepare and carry out a successful counter-offensive on the Vistula. The Red Army was forced to retreat.

In March 1921, the parties signed a peace treaty in Riga. The Soviet-Polish border passed east of the “Curzon Line”; the western part of Ukraine and Belarus became part of Poland. Soon the Poles again captured the Vilna region from Lithuania. This is how the borders of Poland were formed, in which a third of the population were non-Poles. The Soviet-Polish War was the first war waged by the new Polish state: it determined hostility in relations between Poland and the USSR for many years.

In 1921, a constitution was adopted, proclaiming a parliamentary republic in the country. On its basis, elections to the Polish parliament - the Sejm - were held. In foreign policy, Poland, being in an alliance with France since 1921, pursued an anti-German and anti-Soviet policy.

In addition to Poland, several other states emerged after the collapse of the Russian Empire. The revolution gave impetus to national movements that began to put forward demands for independence. The Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia, adopted in early November 1917 by the Council of People's Commissars, recognized the right to self-determination of peoples up to and including separation from Russia. At the same time, the Bolsheviks assumed that on the national outskirts the revolution would lead to the establishment of Soviet power and that close ties would remain between the self-determined outskirts and Russia. However, events did not develop according to this pattern everywhere.

Finland

On December 31, 1917, Finnish independence was granted. In January 1918, left-wing Social Democrats and the Finnish Red Guard, with the help of the Bolsheviks, attempted to establish Soviet power. They captured the capital of Finland, Helsinki, industrial centers in the south of the country, created a revolutionary government that entered into a treaty of friendship with Soviet Russia. In addition, after the declaration of independence, units of the Russian army remained on the territory of Finland, supporting the rebels. The Finnish government moved to the city of Vasya, located on the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia, and began to form a national army, entrusting it to the former Russian general K.G.E. Mannerheim.

The presence of Russian troops gave Mannerheim a reason to ask Germany for help. At the beginning of April 1918, about 10 thousand German soldiers landed in Finland. The rebels were defeated. But the country found itself dependent on Germany; plans were discussed to proclaim Finland a kingdom and invite a German prince to the throne.

After Germany's defeat in the First World War, a republic was proclaimed in Finland, and German troops left the country. Before the formation of elected authorities, the new state was headed by Mannerheim. Soviet-Finnish relations remained tense for a long time.

Lithuania

The territory of the future independent Lithuania was occupied by German troops in 1915. Under the auspices of Germany, the Lithuanian Tariba (Assembly) was created there, headed by A. Smetona. On December 11, 1917, she proclaimed the re-establishment of the Lithuanian state. Germany recognized the independence of Lithuania, forcing Soviet Russia to recognize it through the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

However, after the Compiegne Truce, the Red Army invaded Lithuania. Soviet Power was proclaimed in the country. But soon the Red Army was ousted with the help of volunteer detachments consisting of the remnants of the German army. In April 1919, the Lithuanian Tariba adopted a provisional constitution and elected A. Smetona as president.

However, Smetona's power at first was purely nominal. Part of the country's territory was occupied by the Polish army, the north of Lithuania was controlled by German troops, and relations with Soviet Russia remained unsettled. The Entente countries were suspicious of the representatives of the new government, seeing them as German proxies. It was decided to send the newly formed Lithuanian army to clear the territory of German troops, then, on the basis of anti-Polish interests, it was possible to regulate relations with Soviet Russia. An agreement was signed with her, according to which the Vilna region was recognized as Lithuanian.

In the Soviet-Polish war, Lithuania adhered to neutrality, but Soviet Russia transferred to it the Vilna region, from which Polish troops were driven out. However, after the retreat of the Red Army, the Poles recaptured this territory, and there were continuous clashes between the Polish and Lithuanian armies. Only in November 1920, with the mediation of the Entente countries, a truce was concluded. In 1923, the League of Nations recognized the annexation of the Vilna region to Poland. Kaunas became the capital of Lithuania. As compensation, the League of Nations agreed to Lithuania's seizure of Memel (Klaipeda) on the Baltic Sea coast, a German territory that came under French control after the World War. In 1922, the Constituent Seimas adopted the Constitution of Lithuania. It became a parliamentary republic. An agrarian reform was carried out, during which large landownership, predominantly Polish, was eliminated. As a result of this reform, about 70 thousand peasants received land.

Latvia and Estonia

The territories of Latvia and Estonia, which were part of the Russian Empire, were captured by the German army by February 1918. Under the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Soviet Russia recognized the secession of Latvia and Estonia.

Germany planned to create a Baltic duchy here, headed by one of the representatives of the Prussian Hohenzollern dynasty. But after the Compiegne Armistice, Germany transferred power in Latvia to the government of K. Ulmanis, and in Estonia to the government of K. Päts, who declared the independence of their states. Both governments consisted of representatives of democratic parties.

Almost simultaneously, an attempt was made to establish Soviet power here. Red Army units entered Estonia and Latvia. In the fight against Soviet troops, the governments of Ulmanis and Päts were forced to rely on the help of the German army, and after its evacuation, on volunteer detachments consisting of Baltic Germans and soldiers of the German army. Since December 1918, assistance to these governments began to come from the British, their squadron came to Tallinn.

In 1919, Soviet troops were forced out. Having reoriented themselves towards the Entente and created national armies, the governments of Ulmanis and Päts expelled the German troops. In 1920, the RSFSR recognized the new republics. They held elections to the Constituent Assembly and adopted constitutions. Agrarian reforms, like in Lithuania, played an important role in stabilizing the internal life of these states. Large land holdings, which belonged mainly to German barons, were liquidated. Tens of thousands of peasants received land on preferential terms. In foreign policy, Latvia and Estonia were guided by England and France.

Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia

In addition to Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia also temporarily declared independence during these years. Soviet Russia initially recognized the independence of these states, but then the local Bolsheviks, with the help of the Red Army, established Soviet power and proclaimed independent Soviet republics, which became part of the USSR in 1922.

Consequences of the formation of new states

The formation of new states in Eastern Europe was an important event in the life of its peoples. But, having proclaimed the principles of self-determination of peoples as the basis for national-state delimitation, the great powers, when determining the boundaries of new states, repeatedly violated them themselves or turned a blind eye when others violated them. As a result of this redivision of borders, areas with compact residence of national minorities arose (Germans, Lithuanians, Ukrainians and Belarusians in Poland, Germans, Hungarians and Ukrainians in Czechoslovakia, Hungarians and Ukrainians in Romania). The peoples of Yugoslavia and the Slovaks in Czechoslovakia felt their inequality. This made the new states a hotbed of ethnic conflicts.

In addition, by agreeing to the formation in Central Europe of several relatively small states in place of three empires, with mutual claims against each other, the great powers received a region of constant political instability. There was a kind of “Balkanization” of all of Eastern Europe. This had a fatal impact on the fate of the Versailles-Washington system and the new states themselves.

Creder A.A. Recent history of foreign countries. 1914-1997

The events of the World War turned out to be a difficult test for the peoples. At its final stage, it became obvious that some of the warring states could not withstand the difficulties that befell them. First of all, these were multinational empires: Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman. The burden of war they bore exacerbated social and national contradictions. The many years of exhausting war with external opponents developed into a struggle of peoples against their own rulers. It is known how this happened in Russia.

Formation of new states

And this is how Austria-Hungary collapsed.

Dates and events

• October 16, 1918. - the head of the Hungarian government announced the termination of Hungary's union with Austria.
• 28 of October- The National Czechoslovak Committee (established in July 1918) decided to form an independent Czechoslovak state.
• 29th of October- the National Council was created in Vienna and the independence of German Austria was proclaimed; on the same day, the National Council in Zagreb proclaimed the state independence of the South Slavs of Austria-Hungary.
• October 30- a Liquidation Commission was created in Krakow, which took control of the Polish lands that had previously been part of Austria-Hungary, and declared these lands to belong to the revived Polish state; on the same day, the National Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (which was captured by Austria-Hungary in 1908) announced the annexation of both lands to Serbia.

At the final stage of the world war, the Ottoman Empire also collapsed, from which territories inhabited by non-Turkish peoples were separated.

As a result of the fall of multinational empires, a number of new states emerged in Europe. First of all, these were countries that had restored their once lost independence - Poland, Lithuania and others. The revival required significant efforts. At times this was especially difficult to do. Thus, the “gathering” of Polish lands, previously divided between Austria-Hungary, Germany and Russia, began during the war, in 1917, and only in November 1918 power passed into the hands of a single provisional government of the Polish Republic. Some of the new states first appeared on the map of Europe with this composition and borders, for example, the Republic of Czechoslovakia, which united two related Slavic peoples - Czechs and Slovaks (proclaimed on October 28, 1918). The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, Slovenes (proclaimed on December 1, 1918), which later became known as Yugoslavia, became a new multinational state.

The formation of a sovereign state was a turning point in the life of each of the peoples. However, it did not solve all problems. The legacy of the war was economic devastation and aggravated social contradictions. Revolutionary unrest did not subside even after independence.

Paris Peace Conference

On January 18, 1919, a peace conference opened at the Palace of Versailles near Paris. Politicians and diplomats from 32 states had to determine the results of the war, paid for with the blood and sweat of millions of people who fought on the fronts and worked in the rear. Soviet Russia did not receive an invitation to the conference.

The main role at the conference belonged to representatives of the USA, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan, but in reality the main proposals were made by three politicians - US President William Wilson, British Prime Minister D. Lloyd George and head of the French government J. Clemenceau. They imagined the conditions of the world differently. Back in January 1918, Wilson proposed a program for a peaceful settlement and post-war organization of international life - the so-called “14 points” (on its basis an armistice was concluded with Germany in November 1918).

The “14 points” provided for the following: the establishment of a just peace and the renunciation of secret diplomacy; freedom of navigation; equality in economic relations between states; arms limitation; settlement of colonial issues taking into account the interests of all peoples; liberation of occupied territories and principles for determining the borders of a number of European states; the formation of an independent Polish state, including “all lands inhabited by Poles” and with access to the sea; creation of an international organization guaranteeing the sovereignty and integrity of all countries.

The program reflected both the aspirations of American diplomacy and the personal views of Wilson. Before being elected president, he was a university professor for many years, and if before he sought to introduce students to the truth and ideals of justice, now he strives to introduce entire nations to the truth and ideals of justice. Not the least role in putting forward the “14 points,” obviously, was played by the author’s desire to contrast the “positive democratic program” with the ideas of the Bolsheviks and the foreign policy course of Soviet Russia. In a confidential conversation at that time, he admitted: “The ghost of Bolshevism lurks everywhere... There is serious concern throughout the world.”

The French Prime Minister J. Clemenceau took a different position. His goals were practical - to achieve compensation for all French losses in the war, maximum territorial and monetary compensation, as well as the economic and military weakening of Germany. Clemenceau adhered to the motto “Germany will pay for everything!” For his intransigence and fierce defense of his point of view, the conference participants called him the nickname “tiger” that stuck with him.

The experienced and flexible politician D. Lloyd George, too, sought to balance the positions of the parties and avoid extreme decisions. He wrote: “...it seems to me that we should try to draw up a peace treaty as objective arbiters (judges), forgetting about the passion of war. This treaty must have three purposes in mind. First of all, to ensure justice in taking into account Germany's responsibility for the outbreak of the war and for the ways in which it was waged. Secondly, it must be a treaty which a responsible German government can sign with confidence that it is able to fulfill its obligations. Thirdly, it must be a treaty that will not contain any provocations for a subsequent war and will create an alternative to Bolshevism by offering all reasonable people a real settlement of the European problem...”

The discussion of peace terms lasted almost six months. Behind the scenes of the official work of commissions and committees, the main decisions were made by members of the Big Three - Wilson, Clemenceau and Lloyd George. They conducted closed consultations and agreements, “forgetting” about “open diplomacy” and other principles proclaimed by V. Wilson. An important event during the protracted discussions was the decision to create an international organization to help maintain peace - the League of Nations.

On June 28, 1919, a peace treaty between the Allied powers and Germany was signed in the Hall of Mirrors at the Grand Palace of Versailles. Under the terms of the treaty, Germany transferred Alsace and Lorraine to France, the districts of Eupen and Malmedy to Belgium, the region of Poznan and parts of Pomerania and Upper Silesia to Poland, and the northern part of Schleswig to Denmark (following a plebiscite). The left bank of the Rhine was occupied by Entente troops, and a demilitarized zone was established on the right bank. The Saar region came under the control of the League of Nations for 15 years. Danzig (Gdansk) was declared a “free city”, Memel (Klaipeda) seceded from Germany (later incorporated into Lithuania). In total, 1/8 of the territory on which 1/10 of the country’s population lived was torn away from Germany. In addition, Germany was deprived of its colonial possessions, and its rights in the Shandong province in China were transferred to Japan. Restrictions were introduced on the number (no more than 100 thousand people) and weapons of the German army. Germany also had to pay reparations - payments to individual countries for damage caused as a result of the German attack.

Versailles-Washington system

The Treaty of Versailles was not limited to resolving the German question. It contained provisions on the League of Nations - an organization created to resolve international disputes and conflicts (the Charter of the League of Nations was also cited here).

Later, peace treaties were signed with Germany's former allies - Austria (September 10, 1919), Bulgaria (November 27, 1919), Hungary (June 4, 1920), Turkey (August 10, 1920). They determined the borders of these countries, established after the collapse of Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire and the separation of some territories from them in favor of the victorious powers. For Austria, Bulgaria, and Hungary, restrictions on the size of the armed forces were introduced, and reparations were provided for the victors. The terms of the agreement with Turkey were especially harsh. She lost all her possessions in Europe, the Arabian Peninsula, and North Africa. Turkey's armed forces were being reduced and it was forbidden to maintain a fleet. The Black Sea straits zone came under the control of an international commission. This treaty, humiliating for the country, was replaced in 1923, after the victory of the Turkish revolution.

The League of Nations, established in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles, took part in the redistribution of colonial possessions. The so-called mandate system was introduced, according to which colonies taken from Germany and its allies under the mandate of the League of Nations were transferred to the guardianship of “advanced” countries, primarily Great Britain and France, which managed to occupy a dominant position in the League of Nations. At the same time, the United States of America, whose president put forward the idea and actively contributed to the creation of the League of Nations, did not join this organization and did not ratify the Treaty of Versailles. This indicated that the new system, while eliminating some contradictions in international relations, gave rise to new ones.

The post-war settlement could not be limited to Europe and the Middle East. Significant problems also existed in the Far East, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. There, the interests of the British, the French, who had previously penetrated into this region, and new contenders for influence - the USA and Japan, collided, whose rivalry turned out to be especially acute. To solve the problems, a conference was convened in Washington (November 1921 - February 1922). It was attended by representatives of the USA, Great Britain, Japan, France, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Portugal and China. Soviet Russia, whose borders were in this region, did not receive an invitation to the conference this time either.

Several treaties were signed at the Washington Conference. They secured the rights of the United States, Great Britain, France and Japan to the territories that belonged to them in this region (for Japan this meant recognition of its rights to the captured possessions of Germany), and established the ratio of the naval forces of individual countries. The issue of China was especially considered. On the one hand, the principle of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China was proclaimed, and on the other, the provision of “equal opportunities” for the great powers in this country. In this way, a monopoly takeover of China by one of the powers was prevented (a similar threat existed from Japan), but hands were freed for the joint exploitation of the wealth of this huge country.

The balance of power and mechanisms of international relations in Europe and the world that had emerged by the early 1920s were called the Versailles-Washington system.

Old and new in international relations

Since 1920, the Soviet state began to improve relations with neighboring countries, signing peace treaties with Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Finland. In 1921, treaties of friendship and cooperation were concluded with Iran, Afghanistan, and Turkey. They were based on the recognition of the independence of the named states, the equality of partners, and this differed from the semi-enslaving agreements imposed on the countries of the East by the Western powers.

At the same time, following the signing of the Anglo-Soviet trade agreement (March 1921), the question arose of resuming Russia’s economic ties with leading European countries. In 1922, representatives of Soviet Russia were invited to an international economic conference in Genoa (it opened on April 10). The Soviet delegation was headed by the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs G.V. Chicherin. Western powers hoped to gain access to Russian natural resources and markets, as well as find ways to economically and politically influence Russia. The Soviet state was interested in establishing economic ties with the outside world and diplomatic recognition.

The means of pressure on Russia from the West was the demand that it pay the external debts of Tsarist Russia and the Provisional Government and compensation for the property of foreign citizens nationalized by the Bolsheviks. The Soviet country was ready to recognize the pre-war debts of Russia and the right of former foreign owners to receive in concession the property that previously belonged to them, subject to legal recognition of the Soviet state and the provision of financial benefits and loans to it. Russia proposed to cancel (declare invalid) military debts. At the same time, the Soviet delegation made a proposal for a general reduction in armaments. The Western powers did not agree with these proposals. They insisted on Russia paying all debts, including military ones (in the amount of about 19 billion gold rubles), returning all nationalized property to its previous owners, and abolishing the foreign trade monopoly in the country. The Soviet delegation considered these demands unacceptable and, for its part, proposed that the Western powers compensate for the losses caused to Russia by the intervention and blockade (39 billion gold rubles). Negotiations have reached a dead end.

It was not possible to reach a general agreement at the conference. But Soviet diplomats managed to negotiate with representatives of the German delegation in Rapallo (a suburb of Genoa). On April 16, a Soviet-German agreement was concluded on the resumption of diplomatic relations. Both countries renounced claims for compensation for losses caused to each other during the war. Germany recognized the nationalization of German property in Russia, and Russia refused to receive reparations from Germany. The agreement came as a surprise to international diplomatic and political circles, both because of the very fact of its signing and its content. Contemporaries noted that he gave the impression of a bomb exploding. This was a success for diplomats of the two countries and an example for others. It became increasingly obvious that the problem of relations with Soviet Russia had become one of the main problems of international politics of that time.

References:
Aleksashkina L.N. / General History. XX - early XXI centuries.

The countries of Western Europe have always played a prominent role in world politics and economics. First of all, this applies to England, Germany, France, and Russia. In 1900, the balance of forces in world industrial production was as follows: England accounted for 18.5%, France - 6.8%, Germany - 13.2%, and the USA - 23.6%. Europe as a whole accounted for 62.0% of the world's total industrial production.

After the collapse of Austria-Hungary, the Czechs and Slovaks united and created an independent state - Czechoslovakia. When it became known in Prague that Austria-Hungary had sued for peace, on October 28, 1918, the Prague National Committee assumed power in the Czech and Slovak lands and created a Provisional National Assembly from representatives of various parties. The meeting elected the first president of Czechoslovakia, Tomas Masaryk. The boundaries of the new republic were determined at the Paris Peace Conference. It included the Czech lands of Austria, Slovakia and Transcarpathian Ukraine, which were previously part of Hungary, and later part of Silesia, which was part of Germany. As a result, about a third of the country's population were Germans, Hungarians and Ukrainians. Major reforms were carried out in Czechoslovakia. The nobility was deprived of all privileges. An 8-hour working day was established and social insurance was introduced. Land reform eliminated German and Hungarian large land ownership. The Constitution of 1920 consolidated the democratic system that had developed in Czechoslovakia. Being one of the most developed industrial countries in Europe, Czechoslovakia was distinguished by a relatively high standard of living and political stability.

On October 31, 1918, the Emperor of Austria-Hungary and at the same time the King of Hungary, Charles IV, instructed the Hungarian Count M. Karolyi to form a government of democratic parties. This government was guided by the Entente and tried to keep Hungary within its pre-war borders. November 16, 1918 Hungary was proclaimed a republic. But democracy failed to strengthen in Hungary. Hungarian communists called for revolution and began to create Soviets throughout the country on the Russian model. The Entente “helped” them to come to power, in the form of an ultimatum demanding the release of territories that were now to be transferred to Hungary’s neighbors. The ultimatum was perceived in the country as a national catastrophe. The government and Karolyi himself resigned. It seemed that there was only one way out of this crisis - to try to rely on the help of Soviet Russia. This could not be done without the communists. On March 21, 1919, they and the Social Democrats united and bloodlessly proclaimed the Hungarian Soviet Republic. Banks, industry, transport, and large land holdings were nationalized. Communist leader Bela Kun became People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs and proposed an "armed alliance" with Russia. This call was supported in Moscow. The two Red Armies tried to break through to each other; the Hungarian one pushed back the Czechoslovak troops and entered Transcarpathian Ukraine. But their connection never happened. On July 24, the offensive of the Czechoslovak and Romanian armies began. On August 1, the Soviet government resigned, and soon Romanian troops entered Budapest. Power in Hungary passed to anti-communist groups, which also advocated the restoration of the monarchy in Hungary. Under these conditions, parliamentary elections were held in 1920. The Soviet Republic fell and Miklos Horthy came to power. He banned the Communist Party. In the summer of 1920, the new government signed the Treaty of Trianon. According to it, Hungary lost 2/3 of its territory, 1/3 of its population and access to the sea. 3 million Hungarians ended up in neighboring states, and Hungary itself accepted 400 thousand refugees. The foreign policy of Horthy Hungary was clearly aimed at restoring Hungary within its former borders. Her relations with her neighbors were constantly strained.

She found herself in a difficult situation Austria. In Austria, on October 30, 1918, power was assumed by the Provisional National Assembly and the State Council, a coalition government led by Social Democrat Karl Renner. The Provisional National Assembly abolished the monarchy. Emperor Charles IV, who succeeded the deceased Franz Joseph in 1916, became the last Habsburg on the Austrian throne. The terms of the peace treaty that Austria was forced to sign were unusually difficult for it. For centuries, the developing economic ties between Austria and Hungary and the Slavic lands were artificially severed, and the country lost access to the sea. Vienna, vaunted as the capital of a vast empire and rivaling London and Paris in grandeur, became the capital of a small state. Having become an almost purely Austrian-German state, Austria naturally began to gravitate towards Germany. But these connections were also limited. This became a breeding ground for the growth of nationalist and fascist sentiments.

The Yugoslav peoples that were part of Austria-Hungary united around Serbia and created on December 4, 1918 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. However, the Serbs sought to take a leading position in this state. At the same time, they did not want to take into account the interests of other peoples, very different from each other, despite their common origin (Croats and Slovenes are Catholics, Macedonians, Montenegrins and the Serbs themselves are Orthodox, some of the Slavs converted to Islam, Albanians are non-Slavs, professing the majority Islam). This almost immediately made the national question the main source of instability in political life. At the same time, the main contradiction turned out to be between the Serbs and Croats - the two largest peoples in the country. The authorities tried to suppress any discontent. The country began to be called the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which was supposed to symbolize the “national unity” of the population. In response, Croatian nationalists killed the king in 1934. Only in 1939 the ruling regime decided to make concessions on the national issue: it announced the creation of an autonomous Croatian region.

Lost independence and divided in the 18th century Poland fought for the restoration of her state for more than a century. The First World War created the conditions for achieving this goal. The restoration of an independent Polish state is associated with the name of Józef Pilsudski. Observing the growing contradictions between Russia and Austria-Hungary, he came up with the idea of ​​​​using these contradictions to achieve his goal. He offered the Austrians the services of a revolutionary underground to fight Russia. With the outbreak of the First World War, Pilsudski had the opportunity to form Polish national units, which already in 1914 entered into battle with the Russian army. The retreat of the Russian army from Poland in 1915 contributed to the growth of Pilsudski's influence, which caused alarm among the Germans and Austrians, who least of all thought about Polish independence. They assigned Pilsudski only the role of a weapon in the anti-Russian struggle. The February Revolution in Russia and the recognition by the new government of the Poles' right to independence changed the situation. Pilsudski even thought about switching to the side of Russia, and to begin with, he stopped collaborating with the Austrians and Germans. They did not stand on ceremony with him: he ended up in a German prison. But this episode further contributed to the growth of his authority in Poland and, no less important, made him an acceptable figure for the Entente as the leader of Poland, the restoration of whose independence became inevitable. The German revolution made it possible to proclaim the independence of Poland, and it also freed Pilsudski.

Arriving in Warsaw, becoming the head of the resurgent Polish state, he concentrated all his energy on creating a combat-ready Polish army from disparate units and detachments, which, in his opinion, was to play a decisive role in determining the borders of the Polish state. Poland's western borders were determined at the Paris Peace Conference. Pilsudski tried to recreate the eastern ones in the form in which they were in 1772, when, in addition to the Polish lands themselves, it included all of Belarus, Lithuania, part of Latvia and Right Bank Ukraine. Such plans could not but meet with opposition from the peoples inhabiting these territories. They also contradicted the principle of self-determination of peoples, which formed the basis of the post-war reconstruction.

In December 1919, the Supreme Council of the Entente established the “Curzon Line” as the temporary border of Poland in the east, which ran along the approximate border of the Poles, on the one hand, and the Ukrainians and Lithuanians, on the other. However, relying on the support of France, which saw a strong Poland as a reliable counterbalance to Germany in the east, Pilsudski could ignore this decision. This was also facilitated by the weakness of the states that had just declared their independence (Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus) after the collapse of the Russian Empire.

Polish troops successively established control over Galicia (this part of Ukraine was part of Austria-Hungary before the First World War), the Vilna region of Lithuania, and in May 1920 they occupied Kyiv. After the signing of the peace treaty, in March 1921, the Soviet-Polish border passed east of the “Curzon Line”, and the western part of Ukraine and Belarus became part of Poland. Soon the Poles again captured the Vilna region from Lithuania. This is how the borders of Poland were formed, in which a third of the population was non-Poles.

In 1921, a constitution was adopted proclaiming Poland a parliamentary republic. In foreign policy, Poland, being in an alliance with France since 1921, pursued an anti-German and anti-Soviet policy.

Independence was granted on December 31, 1917 Finland. Already in January 1918, left-wing Social Democrats and the Finnish Red Guard tried to establish Soviet power. They captured the capital of Finland, Helsinki, industrial centers in the south of the country, created a revolutionary government that entered into a treaty of friendship with Soviet Russia. In addition, after the declaration of independence, units of the Russian army remained on the territory of Finland that supported the revolution. The Finnish government moved to the city of Vasya on the shores of the Gulf of Bothnia and began to form a national army, entrusting it to the former Russian general K.G.E. Mannerheim. The presence of Russian troops gave Finland a reason to ask Germany for help. At the beginning of April 1918, about 10 thousand German soldiers landed in Finland. The revolutionaries were defeated. But the country found itself dependent on Germany; plans were discussed to proclaim Finland a kingdom and invite a German prince to the throne. After Germany's defeat in World War I, a republic was proclaimed in Finland, and German troops left the country. Before the formation of elected authorities, the new state was headed by Mannerheim. Soviet-Finnish relations remained for a long time tense.

Territory of the future independent Lithuania already in 1915 it was occupied by German troops. Under the auspices of Germany, the Lithuanian Tariba (Assembly) was created there, headed by A. Smetona. On December 11, 1917, she proclaimed the re-establishment of the Lithuanian state. Germany recognized the independence of Lithuania, forcing Soviet Russia to recognize it through the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. However, after the Compiegne Truce, the Red Army invaded Lithuania, Soviet power was proclaimed there, Lithuania and Belarus were united into one Soviet republic. Negotiations began about its federal union with Soviet Russia. These plans did not come true. The Vilna region was captured by Polish troops, and from the rest of Lithuania the Red Army was driven out with the help of volunteer detachments consisting of the remnants of the German army. In April 1919, the Lithuanian Tariba adopted a provisional constitution and elected A. Smetona as president. All Soviet decrees were canceled. However, Smetona's power at first was purely nominal. Part of the country's territory was occupied by the Polish army, the north of Lithuania was controlled by German troops, and relations with Soviet Russia remained unsettled. The Entente countries were suspicious of the new government, seeing it as German proxies. It was decided to send the newly formed Lithuanian army to clear the territory of German troops, then, on the basis of anti-Polish interests, it was possible to regulate relations with Soviet Russia. An agreement was signed with her, according to which the Vilna region was recognized as Lithuanian.

In the Soviet-Polish war, Lithuania adhered to neutrality, but Soviet Russia transferred to it the Vilna region, from which Polish troops were driven out. However, after the retreat of the Red Army, the Poles recaptured the Vilna region, and there were continuous clashes between the Polish and Lithuanian armies. Only in November 1920, with the mediation of the Entente countries, a truce was concluded. In 1923, the League of Nations recognized the annexation of the Vilna region to Poland. Kaunas became the capital of Lithuania. As compensation, the League of Nations agreed to Lithuania's seizure of Memel (Klaipeda) on the Baltic Sea coast, a German territory that came under French control after the World War. In 1922, the Constituent Seimas adopted the Constitution of Lithuania. It became a parliamentary republic. An agrarian reform was carried out, during which large landownership, predominantly Polish, was eliminated. About 70 thousand peasants received land as a result of this reform.

Territory of future independent republics Latvia and Estonia by the time of the October Revolution it was only partially occupied by German troops. Soviet power was proclaimed in the remaining part of Latvia and Estonia, but in February 1918 the German army captured this territory as well. Under the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Soviet Russia recognized the secession of Latvia and Estonia. Germany planned to create a Baltic duchy here, headed by one of the representatives of the Prussian Hohendollern dynasty. But after the Compiegne Truce, Germany transferred power in Latvia to the government of K. Ulmanis, and in Estonia to the government of K. Päts, who declared the independence of their states. Both governments consisted of representatives of democratic parties. Almost simultaneously, an attempt was made to restore Soviet power here. Units of the Red Army entered Estonia. The Estonian Labor Commune was proclaimed, and the RSFSR recognized its independence. At the initiative of the government of the RSFSR, part of the territory of the Petrograd province with a predominantly Russian population was transferred to Estonia.

In Latvia, a Provisional Soviet government was created from Latvian Bolsheviks, which turned to the RSFSR for help. The Red Army established control over most of Latvia. Then the creation of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Latvia was proclaimed. In the fight against Soviet troops, the governments of Ulmanis and Päts were forced to rely on the help of the German army, and after its evacuation, on volunteer detachments consisting of Baltic Germans and soldiers of the German army. Since December 1918, assistance to these governments began to come from the British; their squadron arrived in Tallinn. In 1919, Soviet troops were forced out. Having reoriented themselves towards the Entente and created national armies, the governments of Ulmanis and Päts expelled the German troops.

In 1920, the RSFSR recognized the new republics. They held elections to the Constituent Assembly and adopted constitutions. Agrarian reforms, like in Lithuania, played an important role in stabilizing the internal life of these states. Large land holdings, which belonged mainly to German barons, were liquidated. Tens of thousands of peasants received land on preferential terms. In foreign policy, these states were guided by England and France.